Urstadt Biddle acquires two properties in Greenwich

Richard Lee

Updated 6:56 pm, Thursday, September 4, 2014

A Greenwich-based real estate investment trust has gone local, expanding its holdings through the acquisition of properties totalling 89,000 square feet in Cos Cob and Old Greenwich.

In a $47.4 million deal, Urstadt Biddle Properties in Greenwich has bought a three-story, 48,000-square-foot mixed-use property on East Putman Avenue (Route 1) in Cos Cob and a group of contiguous two-story, mixed-use properties totaling 41,000 square feet at Sound Beach Avenue and Arcadia Road in Old Greenwich from the Porricelli family.

The Cos Cob property is anchored by a 15,600-square-foot CVS Pharmacy and other retailers, including Robek's, Domino's Pizza and Member's Credit Union. The property also contains second-floor offices and third-floor apartments.

The property was built in 1986 and was occupied by a Porricelli's Market before a conversion to CVS in 2008. The property is 97 percent occupied and is protected from new competition due to the high barriers to entry and the lack of developable land in Greenwich, according to Willing Biddle, president and CEO of Urstadt Biddle, which is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "UBA" and "UBP."

The Old Greenwich property comprises almost a square block in Old Greenwich and is adjacent to the Old Greenwich train station.

The site is anchored by an 18,200-square-foot Kings Supermarket, which replaced another Porricelli's Market in 2013. It is the only grocery store south of Route 1 in Old Greenwich, Biddle said, and has been a commercial hub serving this affluent submarket for more than 50 years.

Kings is owned by the private equity firm Angelo, Gordon & Co., which also owns the Balducci's chain.

In addition to the supermarket building, the block consists of other retail properties and a freestanding building leased to the U.S. Postal Service. Tenants include Dunkin' Donuts, Panache Salon, Chillybear Custom Printing and Design, Sound Beach Food & Beverage, Cleaning by Frederick's and second-floor office tenants.

The block has 50 parking spaces and benefits from its location adjacent to the Old Greenwich Metro-North train station, which adds additional municipal parking and steady commuter traffic flow, Biddle said.

"We are pleased that in addition to the Chimblo retail portfolio we purchased last year, our acquisition program has again found us multiple retail properties in our own backyard of Greenwich," Biddle said in a statement. "The acquisition of these properties helps to further one of our company goals of investing in high-quality grocery or drugstore-anchored shopping centers in the suburban areas surrounding New York City."

Having another landlord with local connections should benefit tenants, according to Chillybear owner Rich Fulton, who moved his business from Greenwich Avenue to 180 Sound Beach Ave. five years ago.

"I think they understand the character of Old Greenwich," he said, commenting that Urstadt Biddle representatives visited his store several weeks ago. "They were up front. I think it's all good."

"Both (sites) are triple-A investment locations. It seems like a real coup for them," O'Kane said. "They bought in the central portion of Cos Cob. (The Old Greenwich property) is another prime location. It has a lot of public visibility."

Urstadt Biddle has considered the two properties for some time, said James Aries, director of acquisitions.

"These properties have been owned by the same family for decades, and selling them was a bittersweet event for them," he said, adding that Urstadt will make cosmetic improvements. "Fortunately, the local family had faith in our ability to close quickly and without complication, in addition to sharing common ownership philosophies, which we believe factored significantly in their choosing to sell to Urstadt Biddle Properties."

The retail property in Cos Cob rents in the $50- to $65-per-square-foot net range, while the Old Greenwich retail space rents in the mid-$20s range, Aries said. The office space rents in the $30- to $35-per-square-foot range.

Urstadt Biddle owns or has equity interests in 69 properties containing about 5.1 million square feet of space.